Pregnancy Diet – Best Healthy Pregnancy Diet Plan & Chart With Tips

Pregnancy Diet Plan, Best Tips and Diet Chart for what you must eat for a Healthy & Happy Baby!

Everyone loves healthy and smiling babies when they are born. Nine months inside a mother’s belly and suddenly, it’s a girl or a boy!! Your pregnancy diet plans can make a difference for many of the complications that arise during this period.

Within these nine months, many things happen and your body needs to cope up with every single one of them in order to have that innocent face smiling back at you, which you’ll remember for the rest of your life.

With the happiness knocking on your door, you need to prepare for its grand welcome! Definitely you must have thought about the room decor of your child, and the numerous tiny clothes you need to buy! Or maybe you already bought them. Also, the toys and the little shoes would be on your “first to do” list.

But, while doing this, do not forget about your pregnancy and the care your body needs. Each step you take, each activity you do, everything has its effect on you and your baby! Hence, the food you take also comes in this section.

Diet during pregnancy

As a woman gets pregnant, the life gets shared. The body gets shared. A woman shares her life with her baby! The nutrition gets shared too, and the type of nutrients you take will define the health of your baby and its development.

The food you take, and the food you avoid, the safety revolves around this only. A proper diet contains all the nutrients – the carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and proteins in proper amount!

Do not get conscious about your increasing weight and no need to worry about decreasing the fat! This is the time period where you need more energy, and weight loss idea can be hazardous! A proper diet needs to carry all the nutrients, not in excess and not in deficiency. The adequate amount should be ensured. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. Involve variety of food. Include the fruits and vegetables. Various minerals and vitamins are inculcated in these food items. Fruits such as oranges, grapes etc are rich in vitamin C, which definitely is needed by the body in huge amounts. The level of folic acid should be kept up to the mark. Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables and legumes. Each day keep on eating small amounts with frequent intervals of time.

2. Carbohydrates are as essential as vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy. Whole grains and cereals in addition to carbohydrates provide high fibre content, iron and proteins.

3. Proteins are the body building food. We have been learning this from first standard. Truly said, proteins are the biologically most important nutrients, and they form the major portion of our body. The amino acids, the DNA, the enzymes – all have the protein complex in them.
   This develops the need of protein intake even more when a new born is developing inside the woman’s womb. Proteins can be taken through meat, fish, poultry items, pulses, cereals and fruit juices.
   The foetal development requires high protein intake, and this is needed at the initial trimester. Feed yourself with a protein rich diet!

4. Dairy foods are also very important to be included in a diet! Any diet without dairy products is futile. Your bones and teeth need to be strong, and so do the baby’s bones and teeth. Calcium should be taken regularly in one form or the other.
   If you do not take calcium, the already present calcium in your body would be shared and this will result in weak development of bones and your ill health. Have some puddings, milk, flavoured yogurts and do not forget the ice-cream!

5. Keep on taking vegetable soups and healthy sprouted snacks in between. The energy they provide is definitely helpful!

6. Keep on nibbling in between. Eat little and too many times!

Pregnancy diet plan

A diet plan is the proper planned diet schedule, which is mandatory to follow. In pregnancy, the diet plan has the following elements. Here is an example:

Breakfast: in normal time, it is said that one should do a heavy breakfast. Similarly in pregnancy, it is obviously required to take a healthy and heavy breakfast. Begin with a healthy oatmeal or porridge. Have a fruit or a fruit juice along with the main meal.

You can also take bread-jam combo with a glass full of milk. Avoid oily and spicy breakfast at this moment.

Breakfast is supposed to be taken at early in the morning around 7 to 8 am.

Snacks: Snack time follows around 12 noon. You can have sprouts or yoghurt. Eat some sliced fruits as well.

Lunch: at about full noon, have your lunch. Do not have it too heavy or overeat. Even if the food is tasty, you have to control the foodie inside you! Have some potato dish, sandwiches, chapattis or whole wheat bread, some apples and a milky treat.

Add the meal with a healthy soup as well. Sweet and sour soup is the most preferred choice of soup! But, don’t go on taste! Add some veggies and cream. Make your soup healthy!

Snacks: during the brunch time, you can nibble some peanuts. Peanuts are a good source of energy.  You can have raw green vegetables. Cucumber keeps the body cool and hydrated. You can also go for vegetable juices.

Salads are not as boring as you may think. Today, internet provides you with all the fantastic recipes with the country specific twists. Go for a Russian salad or an Italian one, all creamy and tasty to eat!

Dinner: you can have chicken or egg curries. Fish may also be tried. But, be careful while choosing the type of fish. Add some steamed rice to your meal. Do not forget the salads. The food you eat must be fresh and properly cooked.

Last snacks: Before going to sleep, have some milk or have frozen yoghurt. You can add some fruits to your sweet yoghurt as well. Go creative with snacks!

This is a common diet plan, or shall I say, a sample diet plan. You can definitely add your own dishes according to your own comfort, but remember to not to miss any important nutritional source.

Healthy pregnancy diet

A healthy pregnancy diet is the one which maintains the quality of health of both the women and the baby inside. You have no right to harm that baby in any way. You need to be careful about your food and eating habits.

All the key points have already been mentioned in the previous topics and also a diet plan has been mentioned for your convenience.

Apart from these, there are a few points you need to keep in mind.

1. Oily and Spicy food should not be taken. If you really feel the urge to eat such food, then you have the permission of eating it once in a week or two.
2. You may also feel the hungriest in the world, but this does not mean that you have to eat the whole of what has been made in the kitchen. Control your eating habits.
3. Fruit and vegetable intake should be more. Whether in the form of juice or as dry fruits, do not miss these anyhow!
4. You can have some almonds and cashews to nibble. Dry fruits are always beneficial in pregnancy.
5. Frizzy carbonated drinks, fast food items, pastries and cakes, all these food stuffs should be taken in fewer amounts. And, if possible, should be avoided.
6. The food should be prepared safely, with full care taken of sanitation and hygiene.
7. Now with the pregnancy onboard, you have to quit your bad habits, if you have any. Smoking and drinking should be completely stopped.
8. Raw and partially cooked meat is not good in pregnancy. Ensure that the meat you are eating is cooked properly.
9. The type of fish you eat needs to be carefully chosen. Do not eat shark, swordfish or marlin. Also, the amount of eating a fish should be limited. This is because mercury may be present in them, and high level of mercury is harmful for the nervous system of the child.
10. Caffeine should be taken in LOW amounts. Do you know in which food items caffeine is present? Tea, Coffee, Chocolates and frizzy carbonated drinks are top in the list of popular caffeinated food items.

Pre pregnancy diet

When you are planning for a pregnancy, your body needs to be fit for the time! Why not prepare it from now on by following a pre-pregnancy diet plan. This plan will prepare your body for the time to come, so that you do not miss out any step of the ladder. Here are a few food guidelines you may follow:

• As you know Folic acid and Citric acid has a key role in pregnancy time period, so you can prepare yourself by beginning with a diet rich in these elements. You can take cereals, fruits and vegetables.
  If you wish and find it comfortable, then you can also go for supplements. But, I recommend you not to go for supplements at such an early stage. Natural diet is much better than taking supplements.

• Low protein content in your body can pose a problem in conception. Maintain your protein balance through a diet rich in proteins. Have eggs, yoghurt, cereals and pulses.

• Have the adequate intake of dairy products. Many women are not so fond of milk and milk products. Try developing this good habit from now onwards.

• Fruits and vegetables should be taken in proper amounts! Build your body strong, Madame.

• Drink plenty of water and keep your body hydrated.

• Avoid having processed or canned food. Go for the fresh material!

Post pregnancy diet

Now you have given birth to the baby, you notice your body is not in a good shape. It is not about gaining weight, but about the fitness you lost all this while, and the time now you may take to get back in shape.

We understand you have to take care of the little you, but do not ignore your health.

Also keep in mind that you are breastfeeding your newborn, so to maintain the balance; you have to be very cautious about your own health.

Exercise little by little daily. You may not get time for it, so try maintaining health and fitness through food this while.

• Since you have given birth to a complete new baby by nourishing it all inside, then to cover up the deficiencies, you need to have an iron and calcium rich diet, with all the fibres and nutrients. Oats and Rice meals would be the best to begin a day with.
• Add some haldi (turmeric) to the warm milk. It rejuvenates you and has healing powers.
• Eat a lot of pulses and cereals. A wide range is available, ready to get cooked up by you!
• Carom seeds, i.e., the ajwain, are the antioxidants! They have several hidden qualities which is beneficial for the body!
• Keep on eating almonds, cashews, dried grapes and other dry fruits in order to provide you with the essential oils and constant energy.
• Green vegetables will give you the best mineral package.
• Brown rice has rich fiber content. It is too tasty as well. Try cooking it in today’s menu!
• Do not forget the fruits anywhere. You need vitamins!
• Include egg protein and whole grains!

Pregnancy diet chart

Best diet for pregnancy

There is nothing called the best diet. As long as you follow the guidelines properly and in sufficient amount, you will get the benefits. And, if you even slightly ignore the diet at any step, then obviously you will not get the best benefits.

Just ignore some bad habits, and follow the diet plan we have mentioned all above.

Before you start your pregnancy diet, you must confirm whether you are pregnant of not? Here are some homemade pregnancy tests which will let you know about your pregnancy even before going to a lab. You must give them a try if you think you are pregnant.

Pregnancy diet menu

A perfect menu should contain all these items:

• Grains
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Meat
• Beans
• Dairy food
• Oils (with less fat content)

And the rest we have mentioned above! Eat well, sleep well and maintain your fitness!

Either you are pregnant or if thinking of getting pregnant then you should definitely read our article on Pregnancy week by week which will enhance your knowledge about symptoms you experience from first to 36th week.